Tequila And Tingles: Turtle Pine, Book 2 by Keri Ford

growing up so fast.”
    He shook his head and left before she got any worse than she already was. It was a pretty day for now, but by this afternoon rain would be moving in. Thank goodness Beth had picked a morning time, or they would have canceled. He drove a couple of blocks over, turned on a street, and there all at once was the park.
    Bright, primary-colored playground equipment filled the grassy area, and a large, open field was next to it. Signs were posted about no pets off their leashes, and only a handful of kids were running around. A small pavilion bumped against the playground equipment, and he found Beth there, sitting backward at a picnic table as she watched Katie and a little guy, whom he guessed to be Kent, running back and forth.
    His footsteps echoed on the concrete and Beth turned and faced him. It wasn’t a frown she gave him, but he wouldn’t call it a smile. She straightened and readjusted in her seat. Like she was preparing for something. Like he might prepare before jumping off the block to dive into a pool. At least she wasn’t frowning.
    Except, as he got closer, she frowned. That frown deepened as her gaze dropped to the basket he carried. “What is that?”
    “Meredith said since we’re meeting at the park at this hour, I have to bring lunch because the kids will be starving.” Sister effectively thrown under the bus.
    There went Beth’s tongue. A quick swipe of her upper lip. “That was very thoughtful.”
    “I told her no because it wasn’t what we agreed on, but she insisted.” Which was true. He had no problem bringing a handful of cookies for snacks. Some Little Debbie from the Quik Stop in a paper bag or something.
    The stiff hold of her shoulders softened a little at that. “Thank you. I know the kids will be glad. They’ve been running up an appetite.”
    Katie ran under the shade of the pavilion. Sweat trickled down her temple, and her hair was a sweaty mess. She looked at him, or more precisely down her nose at him. Which was pretty impressive for someone three feet tall. “What’s Coach Jason doing here?”
    Beth patted her daughter’s back. “He stopped by to play with you and Kent today. And he brought lunch. Isn’t that nice?”
    Katie gave a little shrug.
    Beth tugged slightly at the girl’s short ponytail. “Say thank you.”
    Katie looked to him with squinted eyes. “Thank you, Coach.”
    “Sure thing.” He put the basket with Beth, and even though he would probably never tell Meredith, he thought of everything she’d said. “This is my first time here. Do you think you can show me around? I’ll push you on the swings.”
    Her chin lifted. “I can swing myself. Kent can’t.”
    Of course she could. And he would bet that if she couldn’t swing herself, she would figure it out the moment she sat on the swing while he stood nearby. “Sounds like a plan.”
    Without a look back at Beth, as hard as it was, he followed Katie across the playground to the bottom of a bright orange slide, where she introduced Kent. Katie’s hands were on her hips. She was a shy little thing in class, but she made no bones about standing between him and her little brother. She stuck out her hip to the side as she stared up at him. “If you push him too high, he cries.”
    “I got it. I hope you’ll stay right next to us though, just to make sure I don’t push him too high.”
    “I will.” She looked to the little boy. “He’s going to push you on the swings.”
    “Swings!” Kent jumped from his spot and waddled his way across the playground in a beeline for the swings.
    Katie chased after him and, with a chuckle, Jason followed too. He could do this. Easy. Katie got on a swing that was low to the ground, and Kent pulled at one of those car-seat-looking kinds. He wasn’t tall enough to manage it on his own, which was probably a good thing, because balance didn’t look to be his strong suit.
    “You’ll have to pick him up.” Katie pushed herself into swinging.
    He